Gas-producer.



E. A. W. JEFFERIES.

GAS PRODUCER.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 2, I913.

1,240,220, Patented Sept. 18, 1917.,

gimme? drawings form part of UNTTED STATESEPATENT @FETCE.

EBENEZER A. W. J EFFERIES, OF WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TOMORGAN CONSTRUCTION COMPANY, OF WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS, A. CORPORATIONOF MASSACHUSETTS.

GAS-PRODUCER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 18. 1m 1.

Application filed January 2., 1913. Serial No. 739,635.

To a l 'wirom 2'2 3 concern:

I Be it knowii 'hat I, EBENEZER A. WV. JEF- rnnms, a citizen of theUnited States, residing at 'Worcester, in the county of VVorcester andCommonwealth of Massachusetts, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Gas-Producers, of which the following is a specification,accompanied by drawings forming a part of the same.

My present invention relates to certain improvements in gas producersfor the production of fuel gas from coal. and it relates moreparticularly to means for the feeding and disposition of fuel in the gasproducing chamber whereby, among other objects, greater eficiency ofoperatlon and uniformity of product is secured as hereinafter described,the novel features being pointed out in the annexed claims.

In the accompanying drawings I have illustrated my present invention byits embodiment in practical forms of construction which may, however, bemodified in various particulars without departing from my in vention asdescribed in the accompanying claims.

upper portion of the gas producing cham ber, showin a modified form ofthe fuel feeding mec anism.

Similar .reference characters refer to similar parts in the differentfigures.

Referring to Fig. 1, 1, 1 denote the upper portion of the vertical wallsof a gas producer inclosing a gas producing chamber 2. Itwill beunderstood that the portions of the gas producer shown in theaccompanying a gas producing apparatus having means for the admission ofair at the bottom of the gas producing chamher for the support ofcombustion and with means for the removal of ashes, may be of any knownand suitable form of construction, but not herein shown or described asthey will be familiar to those conall of which The walls 1, l inclosingthe gas producing chamber 2 are designed to contain the mass of fuel 3to which a rotating movement is imparted by the rotation of the wall 1by any suitable actuating mechanism, in the present instance consistingof an annular rack i attached to the wall 1 and engaged by a gear 5 upona rotating shaft 6. The gas producing chamber 2 is provided with astationary cover 7 having a passage 8 for the delivery of gas and havingwater sealed connections 9, 9 with the rotating wall 1 of the producer.

Suspended within an opening 10 in the stationary cover 7 is a fuelmagazine 11 %aving a cover 12 at its upper end,'upon w ich is mounted afuel hopper 13 communicating with the magazine 11 through a centralopening which is provided with a rotatable damper 1st, or other suitablemeans, by which the central opening may be opened and closed at will inthe operation of feeding fuel from the hopper 13 to the magazine 11, Thecover 12 is provided with an annular depending flange 15 entering anannular water sealing chamber 16 supported by the cover 7. The magazine11 is suspended by links 17 from a cable 18 which passes over rollers19, 19 and is wound several times about a drum 20, the end of the cablebeing attached to a counterbalance 21.

Carried by the shaft of the drum 20 is a ratchet wheel 22 engaged by aretaining pawl 23. A hand wheel 24: is provided for the shaft of thedrum 2(), enablying the latter to be rotated by the attendant for thepurpose of raising and lowering the fuel magazine 11. The fuel magazine11 is held from rotating by means of a lug 25 projecting from the outerwall of the water sealing chamber 16 and entering a groove 26 formedupon the outside of the depending annular flange 15. Themagazine 11 maybe of any desired form in cross section, in the present instance it isrepresented as rectangular and 100 ducing chamber 2, while the loweredge of 105 the opposite side is substantially in the center of the gasproducing chamber, as represented in sectional view in Fig. 1.

A rotativemovement is given to the wall l and mass of fuel 3, moving thelatter in 11g the direction of the arrows 27, 27 Fig. 2, and the side ofthe magazine 11- toward which the'mass of fuel is moved is double andincloses a water chamber 28, in which a water circulation is maintainedby means of pipes 29 and 30 connected with a water circulatory system.

The side. of the magazine 11 inclosing the water chamber 28 has itsouter wall 31 extending vertically downward to the level of the fuel 3in the gas producing chamber. The water chamber is provided with anoblique bottom 32 extending downward into the mass of fuel. 3, and thelower portion 33 of the inner wall extends obliquely upward forming acontracted opening 34 at the bot tom of the magazine between a verticalwall 35 and the rounded tip or toe 36 of the water chamber 28. A waterchamber 37 extends around the lower edge of the magazine andcommunicates with the water chamber 28, thereby preventing the lnirningaway of the lower edge of the magazine by the heating of theincandescent fuel in the gas producing chamber. The tip, or toe, 36 ofthe water chamber 28 extends slightly below the vertical walls 31 and35, thereby producing a leveling or compression of the fuel as thelatter is moved beneath the oblique bottom 32 and allowing a sheet offuel from the magazine 11 through the contracted opening '34 to bedistributed evenly over the mass of incandescent fuel, forn'iing auniform layer of fresh fuel extending from the center of the gasproducing chamber to the outer wall 1 and covering the mass ofincandescent fuel at each complete revolution of the latter.

' As the fuel is consumed in the gas producing chamber, an accumulationof ashes forms beneath the fuel bed which tends to impede the low of airtherethrough according to the depth of the accumulated ashes, therebychecking the combustion of fuel in the gas producing chamber. Thevariation in the supply of air c'an be controlled by the removal ofashes. The removal of ashes, however, tends to lower the surface of theincandescent fuel 3. In case the fuel magazine were to be held in afixed sitioo, the lowering of the fuel bed would cause an increased flowof fuel from the magazine until the mass of fuel 3 was broughtsubstantially to the level of the lower end of the magazine, therebycausing an increase in the thickness of the fuel mass correspondingtovthe decrease in the thickness of the stratum of ashes. Even with theuniform deposit of ashes beneath the fuel bed, it is sometimes desirableto increase or decrease the thickness of the fuel bed according to thequality of fuel employed, some classes of fuel producing the bestresults with a comparatively thick fuel bed while others require a thinfuel bed for the most etlieient operation of the producer. I am verticalpoable to raise or lower the surface of the fuel bed within the gasproducing chamber and, consequently, to regulate the thickness of thefuel bed by the vertical adjustment of the magazine 11. If the removalof ashes lowers the fuel bed 3 and it is undesirable to increase thedepth of the/fuel, the retaining pawl. 23 is removed by means of thehand wheel 24 and the fuel magazine is lowered to bring the top of thefue 3 at. the desired level. If, on the other hand, an increase in thedepthof the fuel bed is desirable, the fuel magazine is raised by therotation of the drum 20 to bring the top of the fuel bed to the desiredlevel. The conditions required for the most etticient operation of theproducer relating to the level of the fuel in the gas producing chamber,or to thethickness of the fuel bed, are. therefore, under the control ofthe operator.

In Fig. 3 l ha e showna modification in which the upper part 38 of thefuel magazine is held in a vertical position, being rigidly attached tothe rover 7 of the gas producing chamber. The lower portion 39 of thefuel magazine is inclosed by a vertically adjustable wall it) which ismade double to inclose a water chamber 41 suspended from the lower endsof water pipes 42 connected with a water circulatory system. The wall 43inclosing the upper portion 38 of the fuel magazine is likewise watercooled and the lower wall -40 has a telescopic or sliding connectionover the outside cf the upper wall 43. The pipes 42, 42, are connectedby a crosbar 44 suspended from a cable 45 which passes over the rollers19 and wound several times about the drum 20 and is provided with thecounterbalance 21. Attached to the pipes 42 are the inverted cups 46which dip in the water reservoir 4:7 formed on the cover 7.

Certain subject-matter shown and described herein, is claimed in mycopending application Serial No. 7 82,561, filed August 2, 1913.

I claim:

.1. A gas producer comprising a se tion inclosing a chamber for the reption of fuel, a fuel magazine ec(rent"'c to said section and with itslower end arranged to rest upon the fuel in said chamber, and means forcausing relative rotation between said section of the producer and saidmagazine toeause the lower end of the magazine to move along the surfaceof the fuel, the edge of the delivery opening at the lower end of themagazine being lower at its side nearest the approaching fuel than atits opposite side.

2. A including a chamber for the reception of fuel, a fuel magazine, andmeans for causing relative rotation between said section of the producerand said magazine, the magagas-producer comprising a section.

naeoaao zine having an inclined bottom wall arranged to contact with thesurface of the fuel within said section of the producer, there being afuel delivery opening in the lower end of said magazine at the side ofsaid wall'opposite the approaching fuel.

3. A gas producer comprising a section inclosing a chamber for thereception of fuel, a fuel magazine'entcring said chamber eccentricallythereto and provided with a scraping lovver end arranged to rest uponthe fuel in said chamber, means for producin a relatively rotativemovement between said maza he and the surface of the fuel in and meansfor verticallythe said c amber, W adjusting said magazine relatwely tosaid section to vary the level of fuel therein.

4. A gas producer, comprising a gas pro-- -tion, means for varyingsuperimposed duc'ing chamber, a vertically movabl fuel magazine thereinand means for imparting a rotative movement to the surface of the fuelin said gas producing chamber relative to said fuel magazine.

5. A gas producer,

comprising a fuel secthe level of fuel in said section, comprising anadjustable supply magazine having its contents directly on the fuelcontained in said section, and means for rotating said sectionrelatively to said magazine.

Dated this twenty-sixth day of December,

EBENEZER A. W. JEFFERIES.

Witnesses:

PENELOPE COMBERBACH, NELLIE Wnamn.

